Sweet Vadalia Onions-America's Favorite Onion!!

I can remember one thing my Mom loved to eat more than anything else, it was a sweet Vadalia onion. She would eat them actually "RAW" yes, I said "RAW".  She would sliced them and eat it between two slices of bread like a sandwich and don't you know, as she sliced, a few bites where taken in the process. 
What is a Vadalia onion you ask?  It is a mild and sweet onion, sweet enough to eat like fruit. These onions were first grown in Vidalia, Georgia in the early 1930 by a farmer named Moses Coleman, that discovered by his surprise, the rich sulfur ground produced a rather sweet & mild onion instead of a hot ones.  So it being in Vidalia, Georgia, that is how this onion got it's name and they remains still to grow exclusively in Georgia. 

Along side many of the roads in some of the Southern states, you can see what we call, roadside stands. They are filled with fruit, peanuts, and bags of Vadalia onions. 30% 0f the distribution of Vadalia onions is done in these quaint roadside stands. A few times when my husband Rick would be driving in one of the great states, knowing my Mom loved these onions, he would buy a 10 bag and drive by the homeplace and surprise her with them.  If she wasn't at home, he would leave his special gift in the mailbox and "what a treat" for her. I have seen these stands as far south as Florida, Mississippi and Alabama.  

So these wonderful onions can be experienced many different ways, most common is of course, sliced and place on hamburgers or diced and placed on hot dogs. There are just awesome in potato salads, vegetable salads, or used to flavor many Southern dishes.  Let me share two of my favorites.


SIMPLY POTATO & VIDALIA SOUP
3 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 large Vidalia Onion (chopped)
3 cups cooked new potatoes (diced)
4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Sauté Vidalia Onions in butter. Add flour and blend. Add milk and salt. Cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add cooked diced potatoes. Season with salt and pepper.


THE BEST FRIED VADALIA ONION RINGS

Several large sized Vidalia® Onions

1 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1.5 tsp baking flour

1 egg (separated)

3/4 cup of milk

1 tbsp of vegetable oil

Peanut oil for frying

Slice onions into rings. In 1 bowl, mix together flour, salt and baking powder. In another bowl, beat egg yolk, then

stir in milk and vegetable oil. Combine wet and dry ingredients, stir until smooth. In a third bowl, beat egg white until soft peaks form, then fold into egg-flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Dip onion rings into batter and deep fry.